A ballot is typically a paper sheet or card used to cast or register a vote, usually a secret one. While a receptacle may be adapted to receive and store ballots it is also useable as a depository for materials other than ballots, for example, sheets or cards, completed survey forms, other forms that must be collected, or any sort of identification or token used as a marker for making a choice.
A conventional ballot box receptacle may be made of, for example, metal, wood, plastic, or fabric and is provided with a locked hinged cover having an entry slot to receive ballots. One problem with a conventional ballot box is that it is possible to shake out the deposited ballots through the entry slot.
Efforts have been made to prevent such tampering. For example, in one form a ballot box has a slotted, locked hinged cover and a closure mounted on the underside of the entry slot. The closure takes the form of a pivoted plate that is weighted at one end so that the plate normally lies against the slot and is swung open only by a ballot inserted in the slot. A deposited ballot cannot be shaken out of the box because the entry slot is blocked by the plate.
One preferred form of a ballot depository is a ballot bag or pouch fabricated from, for example, leather, fabric or other flexible material. These bags are more easily carried and transported to and from a polling place than a rigid ballot box. In one known form, a ballot bag comprises a flexible material which has a rigid cover disc provided with an entry slot. To prevent tampering with the pouch a spring-biased, hinged flap is mounted below the entry slot so that the flap is swung open by an inserted ballot. Once a ballot is deposited the slot is then blocked by the closed flap preventing the ballot from being withdrawn through the entry slot. Of course, use of spring-biased hinged flap increases the difficulty of inserting a paper ballot into the receptacle.
Accordingly, there is still a continuing need for improved ballot depository designs. The present invention fulfills this need and further provides related advantages.